As many of you will know, Tramalón has started voting on different designs and frames in Spain. The first winner, among the four Seat Córdoba WRCs, was that of the Asturian Aldo de Alberto, with a very special decoration, just like his past.
We are talking about chassis number 8, ex Seat Sport official, which went out to race in 1999. Aldo’s unit was piloted by Italian Piero Latti, with whom he did not have much good luck. Rovanperä also enjoyed it in a final race. In 2000 it passed into private hands (Snobeck) until, a year later, it arrived in Spain. Not without first passing through the hands of Dani Solá, with a sixth place in the 2000 Rally Madrid.
Its national beginnings took place on land, with Michael Huete and Joan Roca, in 2001. They enjoyed the support of Seat Sport in the Spanish Gravel Championship. At that time, the car was owned by Baporo Motorsport. As of 2003, the trainers got rid of the car, ending up in the hands of a private driver from León, from El Bierzo, Javier Arias. He enjoyed it for two years, and with victories, as in the Rally Ciudad de León in 2003.
As of 2005, the Seat Córdoba WRC would take the destination “north”, more specifically Galician. Roberto Blach took over the car but for a short time. The Riojan Rubén García, after passing him through the spectacular Ford Escort WRC, decided to go for this car. He added one more car to the well-known “Mundialito Vasco” during the 2007 season.
Destination Manolo Cabo (2007-2010)
After passing through the Basque Country, the car came to the hands of Manolo Cabo. A total change for the Cantabrian driver, since he had just played seasons with the Citroën Saxo and C2 S1600. After testing it in the tribute to Ugarte in Laukiz, victories soon came in rallyes such as Torrelavega or Hoznayo, among others. At the end of 2010, fate decided that the Spanish unit was to cross Spain from north to south. Manuel Maldonado became its new owner from 2011.
A tricky case that of the Andalusian driver, who was lucky enough to have two Seat official cars in his garage (our protagonist together with the Seat Ibiza Kit-Car). There is nothing. Maldonado focused on the Spanish Hillclimb Championship, winning the title of Group A winner in 2012. His next rider will also be a “mountaineer”: We are talking about the Asturian Julio Castrillo, who competed in several climbs until 2013.
As of 2013, at the hands of its current owner
They have already checked. The path that this car has followed since its manufacture is amazing, highlighting the curious case of its uninterrupted prominence in Spain. The Asturian Aldo de Alberto bought it two days before the 2013 Hillclimb to Santo Emiliano, in which he participated. During that year, he disputed several more climbs, such as Castrillón, from the regional, or Peña Cabarga, from CEM.
From there, Córdoba returned to its WRC appearance, but with its own sponsors. A work of art highly appreciated by fans around the world. Since then, the Asturian participates in sporadic events, such as the Trasmiera Rally Festival or single races within the Asturian regional, whether they are rallies, rallysprint or climbs. It is a real luxury to continue having a unit of this caliber in our country.
